Category: Hands & Nails Products

Butter London Artful Dodger Nail Lacquer

Butter London Artful Dodger Nail Lacquer ($14.00 for 0.4 fl. oz.) is described as a “true teal.” It reads more blue than teal on me; at best, it is a bluish teal. At some angles, I can kind of go with teal being the dominant color, but then in most lighting, it looks like a slightly dusty blue with a touch of teal. What do you think? It seems like teal is a rather subjective color. My initial reaction to this is to say blue, and I’m a gal who likes her teals! I feel like it’s similar to ORLY Bailamos but Artful Dodger is bluer. I’m taking off a point for pigmentation, because I don’t think this matches the description as well as it should.

It’s a beautiful cream finished polish that’s opaque in two coats (one is almost enough). Butter London’s formula on this one has a really even flow, smooth application, and drying time wasn’t long at all. I typically get a week of wear with Butter London’s formula with a proper base and top coat.

Rescue Beauty Lounge Bikini Bottom Nail Lacquer

Rescue Beauty Lounge Bikini Bottom Nail Lacquer ($18.00 for 0.5 fl. oz.) is described as a “watery pale blue.” It’s really a soft, pale blue with a smidgen of green that looks squishy on. From everything I’ve read on this polish, it is a sheer shade, so it’s not expected to be opaque nor designed to be worn that way. I wore two coats in the swatches, and I think it works best with two. It’s not streaky like some pastels, but it will start to look uneven if you don’t let each coat dry before the next and go to three or four coats. I think a ridge filler would be helpful here, too, to really get a flawless, sheer look.

I didn’t find this formula to be as flawless as Rescue Beauty Lounge’s other shades; it’s just not as easy to apply. I felt like you do need to work with it and be patient, because the way it overlaps can make the color look uneven or patchy if you are not careful. I also had some color pull up from the base, because the first coat had not dried enough. The drying time was a little long. I typically get a full week of wear with RBL’s formula.

Cult Nails Living Water Nail Laquer ($10.00 for 0.5 fl. oz.) is described as a “deep blue jelly polish with ice blue and emerald green glitter inspired by the phosphorescent sea-water.” It’s a really blackened blue color base (more black than blue, even with flash) with pale blue, emerald green, and teal micro-glitter.

If you prefer a smooth finish, be sure to use a thicker top coat like Seche Vite (I took all the natural light photos without a top coat so you could see the natural finish) so you won’t feel the slight texture of the micro-glitter. I needed two coats to get opaque color, and the formula dries quickly but almost needs to set before going for a second coat.

For me, it dries to a semi-matte finish on the first coat, but the second coat held more shine (without a top coat), though I’d still recommend a shiny top coat for best results. I did a wear test with this shade, since I haven’t tested enough of the brand’s shades to make any generalizations, and it wore for a week with minimal tip wear but no chipping.

P.S. — They’re actually have a buy three, get one free sale through Tuesday, just use code NEVERFORGET! 🙂

Cult Nails Iconic Nail Laquer ($10.00 for 0.5 fl. oz.) is described as a “deep berry creme with gorgeous red flakes and hidden gold shimmer throughout.” It’s a medium-dark berry red that’s dark without being vampy with ruby red reflective flakes and gold shimmer. The flakes give it more dimension and depth, and though you might think they’d make the polish uneven or bumpy, they don’t. I couldn’t feel them at all; the surface was still smooth. I used two coats to get opaque color, and the formula was the right consistency that allowed for even flow of the polish over the nail without getting too much or little polish on it. I tested Iconic out for wear, and it lasted a full week with minor tip wear.

Cult Nails was created by Maria, a nail blogger at R3daily. There is definitely a story behind the brand, and with it being in its beginning stages, it’s so easy to fall in love. It’s like supporting your local grocer, farmers’ market, or corner store. Their passion for their new brand is infectious, and I’m so glad that the brand created and rolled out a well-executed formula that really cinches it for me.

Part of the brand’s philosophy is creating a green company, so all polishes are big-three-free (no toulene, formaldehyde, or dibutyl), but they also exclude phthalate and camphor. They list all of their polish as vegan-friendly, along with repurposing or using recycled supplies for shipping and packaging. The brand began with four shades (of which I will be swatching the other three), and more recently launched an addition five shades (all limited), but I haven’t seen those yet, though they are tempting!

P.S. — They’re actually have a buy three, get one free sale through Tuesday, just use code NEVERFORGET! 🙂

Rescue Beauty Lounge Insouciant Nail Lacquer

Rescue Beauty Lounge Insouciant Nail Lacquer ($18.00 for 0.4 fl. oz.) is described as a “toned-down dusty gray lilac” that’s “punked out rather than pastel with the faintest hint of shimmer.” It’s a dusty medium-dark lilac muted with gray with iridescent aqua and violet micro-shimmer. I used two coats for opaque color, and when I wore this as a full manicure, it held up really well–a solid week and a half with minor tip wear.

Minka is a light-medium beige with warm undertones and a subtle silver micro-shimmer. It’s a bit like Deborah Lippmann Not THat Innocent, though not as dark.

Shay is a pink-tinged peach-beige with a silvery-white micro-shimmer threaded through the creamy base. It looks pinker in the bottle than applied, at least on my hands, which I attribute to my natural yellower undertones. It’s a bit like MAC Hangin’ Loose on me.

Pandora is a light-medium pale, beige-y rose with silvery-white threads of metallic shimmer. The closest shade I could think of was Rescue Beauty Lounge Plie, which is darker and pinker.

All three were surprisingly pigmented–Zoya really meant it when they said these were full coverage, because these were nearly opaque in one coat, but I used two for the swatches. I typically get a week’s worth of wear out of Zoya’s formula. The formula on these was on the thicker side, though, so more patience was required than I anticipated, which resulted in messier swatches than I’d like, because it didn’t flow as nicely as it could (my carpal tunnel has been acting up, so my hands are really shaky lately).